McWherter campaign admits dropping the ball at straw poll

Mike McWherter’s campaign took the blame Monday for his bleak, fourth-place showing in a straw poll of Democratic candidates for governor.

“We just didn’t do our staff work on this one,” campaign manager Kim Sasser Hayden admitted. But she insisted, "I still feel that Mike is the frontrunner, and he’s the one to beat."

McWherter, seen by some observers as the strongest Democrat in the race, won only 32 votes in the contest Saturday at Murfreesboro. The winner was Roy Herron with 119 votes followed by Jim Kyle with 81 and Kim McMillan with 58. Only Ward Cammack, a little known businessman who got only 13 votes, finished worse than McWherter.

The straw poll was held by the Rutherford County Democratic Party, which touted the results as an early indication of strength in the 2010 gubernatorial race.

Supporters of candidates bought $50 tickets for the right to vote in the straw poll. But by fire marshal’s order, only 390 tickets were sold, the capacity of the MTSU ballroom where the event was held. Tickets were sold out a week beforehand, with Herron’s supporters gobbling up most of them.

Jonathan Fagan, the Rutherford County party chair, said all the campaigns knew the rules. He said he hopes the straw poll will make Rutherford County “the Iowa of Tennessee,” a reference to the first-in-the-nation Iowa presidential caucuses.

“The results of this straw poll show who has the energy and the organization, the communication skills and the fire to win this nomination,” Fagan said. “The campaigns that lost can make excuses but, at the end of the day, it’s all about who took it seriously and got in early. That’s what’s it’s going to take to win the straw poll and that’s what it’s going to take to win the nomination. All else is just excuses, excuses, excuses.”

But few voters are paying attention to the race at this early stage, and Hayden said the results won’t hurt McWherter’s campaign, even among contributors and other insiders.

“This stuff happens all the time with these straw polls,” she said, “and I don’t think they are accurate perceptions of where campaigns are and certainly not where the electorate is. This was a failure of staff work, not a failure of what people think about Mike."

6 Comments on this post:

By:cmarcus45 on 9/21/09 at 11:43

Sounds like a good fundraiser for the Rutherford Dems, but paying $50 to attend and vote does not seem as if it would yield results representative of the general electorate. And if the party chair seriously compares this event to the Iowa caucuses -- even on a smaller scale -- then the Rutherford Dems need to find a new leader. That comment is so ridiculous it is hilarious.

By:Floyd2 on 9/21/09 at 1:17

Agreed. Fifty bucks a vote takes this out of the realm of the average voter. It does show a campaign that was on its game, but not much else.

By:BlueRaider on 9/21/09 at 2:05

I don't think you would find a single Democrat in Rutherford County who is unhappy with their leader.

By:harrystatel on 9/21/09 at 3:31

We need another McWherter like we need another Ray "Pardons for Sale or Rent" Blanton. Another fat-cat that owes his soul to the misconduct of Jimmy "Got You by the Testicles" Naifeh.

By:howelln on 9/22/09 at 11:00

I don't think his people really know what they are doing. I received a slick email last week that was asking for money. Nowhere in the email did it tell me what office he was running for or what any of the issues were. It was just" I'm running hard and sent me money."

By:Time for Truth on 9/22/09 at 11:45

This is a weak field of candidates for the Democrats. Certainly the weakest I remember with no incumbent opposition. Surely they could have found someone to run offering a compelling reason to vote for them. After a Democrat held office for eight years with one of the most successful governorships in this state's history, this one may go to the R's next year. God help us if it's some wingnut like Wamp or (to a lesser extent) Ramsey.

Surprised Ned Ray didn't line up his road building buddies. Fifty bucks is a small bar tab to those guys. Maybe they've bet on or already made deals with one of the Republican candidates.

By:govskeptic on 9/22/09 at 2:41

Harry I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for
the poetic thinking on this one.

By:govskeptic on 9/22/09 at 2:42

Harry I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for
the poetic thinking on this one.

By:govskeptic on 9/22/09 at 2:42

Harry I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for
the poetic thinking on this one!